Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information and Dividend Policy

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “COST.” On October 4, 2016, we had 8,572 stockholders of record. The following table shows the quarterly high and low closing prices as reported by NASDAQ for each quarter during the last two fiscal years and the quarterly cash dividend declared per share of our common stock.

Price RangeCash Dividends Declared
HighLow
2016:
Fourth Quarter$169.04$141.29$0.450
Third Quarter158.25146.440.450
Second Quarter168.87143.280.400
First Quarter163.10138.300.400
2015:
Fourth Quarter146.89132.710.400
Third Quarter153.14143.050.400
Second Quarter155.92137.315.355(1)
First Quarter140.01121.350.355

(1)Includes a special cash dividend of $5.00 per share.

Payment of future dividends is subject to declaration by the Board of Directors. Factors considered in determining dividends include our profitability and expected capital needs. Subject to these qualifications, we presently expect to continue to pay dividends on a quarterly basis.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The following table sets forth information on our common stock repurchase program activity for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 (dollars in millions, except per share data):

PeriodTotal Number of Shares PurchasedAverage Price Paid per ShareTotal Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Program(1)Maximum Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased under the Program
May 9—June 5, 2016416,000$146.08416,000$3,292
June 6—July 3, 2016234,000154.81234,000$3,256
July 4—July 31, 201666,000164.1266,000$3,245
August 1—August 28, 2016140,000167.34140,000$3,222
Total fourth quarter856,000$153.34856,000

(1)Our repurchase program is conducted under a $4,000 authorization approved by our Board of Directors in April 2015, which expires in April 2019.

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